Thursday, July 29, 2010

Self-Determination Theory

Self-determination theorists thus believe that effective learning is most likely to occur when these three needs are met. As teachers, this means our classrooms environments should:

Teach important, relevant skills.

How do we define/determine "relevant"? How subjective is this definition from the student's point of view?

Give the students flexibility and opportunities to discover and pursue their passions/interests, and strengths.

Foster a sense of camaraderie and affection among students, and (I'm assuming) the teacher.

What would the teacher's role be in this aspect of classroom environment? I want to say something between a parent and a friend, and yet something else too--and not necessarily all the things that the "parent" and "friend" labels entail.